Harry felt relieved to be back at the Palace. Remus and Sirius, who had responded positive to his patronus, returned unharmed in the late morning. Every one of the Weasleys stayed at the Burrow, except for Hermione, who, after an argument with Percy about Crouch's treatment of Winky, decided to "stay with Harry and Ginny, who at least treat house-elves right!" She took it upon herself to make sure Dobby got back on his feet, although even she had to resort to asking Harry and Ginny about healing of house-elves. After a long row of questions, Harry told her to go and find a book at the library, claiming it was far better to explain spells and potions than him.
The twins were more often than not locked up in their room at the Palace, experimenting in inventing new pranks, if Harry's suspicions were right. They preferred to keep their inventing and inventions at the Palace, because Mrs. Weasley usually wasn't there to reprimand them for trying to make a joke shop. Harry and Ginny merely gave useful ideas and tips, which were far more welcome.
Ron, Ginny and Harry spent most of the day on a broom, testing out moves and tactics that they'd seen at the World Cup. However, today Harry and Ginny had taken a break from the lively, noisy Palace and headed for a walk outside the wards. They walked to Inxbury and bought school books for everyone; even Fred and George, who had given them their book lists. In addition they bought, several newly published books that they didn't have, like A Home Amongst Wolves: An Objective Study of Werewolf Hierarchy and Living by Lupo McPratt, The Secrets of the Ministry of Magic By Johanna Thorne and Weeds You Don't Want To Throw Away by Elena Lawless. They also had to get dress robes for themselves, since it said so on in the Hogwarts letter for the coming year, although they had no idea why. Ginny had to get new underwear, since she'd grown in certain places, which left Harry waiting on the bench right outside along with another wizard who had preferred to stay outside and wait rather than to join his wife inside lingerie shopping.
The wizard was kind, but overly curious about how Harry had captured the Death Eaters, most of which were having a trial in a few days. Harry, reluctant to talk much about it, answered in short sentences, and was in a way relieved when a distraction made itself apparent as the form of Winky, who stared up at Harry with brown teary eyes filled with hope and desperation.
"I-I is sorry if I is i-intruding, sir," she began, hiccuping slightly between sobs, "but Harry Potter kindly said Winky could find him if she needed help, sir."
Harry covered up his worry and smiled at her. "Yes, of course, Winky. What can I do for you?"
"W-Winky has no master anymore, and she is not knowing what to do. Winky is wondering if she could be the great Harry Potter's house-elf?" she sniffled and dried her slightly swollen, red nose with the back of a thin hand.
"Are you certain, Winky?" Harry asked seriously, "are you certain that you want this, and not a different master?"
Winky shook her head so her ears flapped around her face. "I is not wanting no other master than Harry Potter!" she declared passionately.
Gin? Should I offer pay?
No, I don't think it would have any use. She'd say no anyway. Remember what she said at the World Cup. Perhaps she's more willing to accept holidays? Ginny suggested.
"If you're absolutely sure, I can do that for you. Would you accept holidays? One day off a week or a week a month or something?" he asked.
Winky shook her head vehemently, "I is not wanting holidays, sir! It is not how house-elves do!"
"Well, if you change your mind, just tell me. Anyway, I think you will have to tell me how a house-elf and master bond is formed," said Harry.
"I will, sir! Is we waiting for someone?" Winky asked eagerly, all traces of tears and sobs gone.
"Yes; Ginny. She's in there buying some underwear," Harry explained.
I'll be out in a few minutes. I've got enough now, Ginny said, having heard the conversation.
Exactly two minutes later Ginny emerged through the door, which clinged as it banged shut. "Hello, Winky. What brings you to this end of the country?" she asked, trying to act surprised.
"I is being Harry Potter's new house-elf," Winky said importantly, reminding Ginny slightly of Percy.
"Oh, really? Has he offered you any holidays then? It wouldn't be kind of us to take on anyone to work for us without offering payment and holidays," Ginny said skilfully.
"Winky is not wanting pay, and not holidays too," she said firmly.
"I don't want to argue with you, Winky, if that's truly not what you want, but are you absolutely certain?" Ginny asked.
"I is certain!"
"Alright, then! I think we better head back home." Taking Harry's hand, she lead the way back towards the Palace along the narrow path.
Winky trotted along behind them, peering out from Harry's left side in hopes of catching a glimpse of her new home.
Those are honest emotions, and not someone asking her to spy on us, right? Harry asked, glancing at Ginny, who threw a glance at Winky and nodded.
Very much so.
They reached the edge of the wards within half an hour of walking, and Harry bent to inform Winky of its location, so she was able to enter the wards.
"Is I doing the bonding right now, sir?" Winky asked.
"Oh, yeah, I suppose," Harry said hesitantly and watched as Winky reached up to take Harry's hand. There was a sudden spike of pain, which caused him to startle. Winky looked at him apologetically, but then let go of his hand and beamed happily.
"Alright, now that's done," Harry began and sat down on a bench that he and Ginny had placed near the stream in the forest for some private time, "will you please sit down here, Winky? We need to set some ground rules."
Winky looked very shocked, but clambered onto the bench and sat down, watching Harry with wonder as he took Ginny on his lap. Ginny pulled out her handbag and pulled an inkwell, some parchment and a quill and started scribbling: "Rules for Winky".
"Number one; you may not hurt yourself on purpose," Harry said, paying attention to his words. He had understood from Sirius how literary house-elves might need it, and any loopholes they could find, were likely to be used. "that counts even if you do something that you consider disobedience."
"Number two," Ginny continued, "you may not talk about anything that could give away any clue about Harry and I being soulbound to anyone outside my brothers and parents, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Professors Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape, Madam Pomfrey, Harry or myself unless Harry or I allow you to. And you are not allowed to talk about family business outside of our family – that is Harry and myself, unless we say otherwise."
"Number three: all of our friends should be treated kindly, no matter of wealth, social rank or blood status. The word 'Mudblood' is strictly prohibited in our home," Harry went on, "Number four, and last: if you feel that you've been disobedient, you are to come and talk to us. You have our word that we will not punish you with violence or clothes unless you expressly wish to be freed, at which point we expect to be informed. If we ever find a reason for us to give you clothes, you will get two warnings before given clothes."
They paused and watched Winky, who looked back with big eyes, sucking in every word. "Have you understood everything, Winky?" Harry asked.
Winky nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Master!"
"Any questions?"
"No, Master!" Winky said.
"Alright, then," Harry said, pushing gently at Ginny's hips to get her to stand.
Like expected, Hermione was fiercely passionate about Harry's decision about taking Winky as his house-elf. Harry had to firmly tell her once again that the elves had a different view on the world, like a wizard and a muggle; how a muggle couldn't possibly understand how to use magic worked the same way as the fact that humans didn't have a chance to understand why house-elves were the way they were. One just had to accept them for what they were, and still treat them respectfully.
Sirius, who was used to Kreacher, watched Winky critically, but said nothing, whereas Remus greeted her kindly and presented himself. Ron was most interested in asking whether Winky cooked as well as Ginny or his mother, whereas Neville and the twins seemed nonchalant to the matter.
After giving Winky a tour of the Palace(which left her wide-eyed and squeaking excitedly), Ginny told her to pick a room of her choosing to sleep in. They pointed out the ones occupied; Harry and Ginny's, Sirius and Remus' rooms, and the ones that Hermione, Neville and the Weasleys used when they were visiting.
Winky went straight back to the corridor outside Harry and Ginny's bedroom, where a large window showing the main garden and the evening sunset, and crawled inside the wardrobe that was placed right outside their bedroom to Harry and Ginny's great surprise.
"Winky, you don't have to sleep in the wardrobe!" Harry exclaimed, horrified. He had heard stories about Kreacher sleeping in the cupboard in the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place, and found it appalling to force someone to sleep in a cupboard. Not that a wardrobe was much better.
"Winky likes it here!" Winky declared as she walked from side to side inside the cupboard. It allowed her to take four steps, no more.
"Why would you want to sleep in a wardrobe?" Ginny asked. "There are plenty of other rooms for you to sleep in."
"I is wanting to be close to my new Master and Mistress, because I is not wanting to be a disgrace to the Potter family also, who kindly took me when I had disgraced Master Barty – "
She seemed to disappear into her memories and began wailing in distress. Harry and Ginny exchanged a look before Harry resolutely knelt before Winky, who had sunk down inside the wardrobe.
"Winky, listen. If Mr. Crouch chose to free you, it is his loss, because I saw the length you were willing to go to obey him. I'll tell you that if I were afraid of heights, I might too have struggled up there in the top box," Harry told her, and she stared back with eyes wide with disbelief. "Now, if you if you change your mind, and want to find a different place to sleep, then please do so, but do inform us if you do." He then lifted his arm to look at his watch. He had found it amongst Dudley's old, discarded things, and taken to use it rather than having it wasted.
Dinnertime? Ginny asked.
Yep.
They walked back down to the kitchen, leaving Winky behind to get comfortable in her wardrobe. They found Remus in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
"How is she settling in?" he asked when they entered.
Harry smiled in amusement. "You know that old wardrobe with lionfeet by our bedroom?" Remus nodded. "Of all the rooms in the Palace, she chose that as her place to sleep in. It's like she has an aversion against sleeping in beds."
"She probably isn't used to sleep in beds. I doubt Mr. Crouch offered her a bed to sleep in," Remus said and watched as they began cooking an Indian curry. "Although, it is the first time that I see a family with brand new house-elf cook their own dinner."
Ginny glanced at him. "Well, we enjoy cooking. We aren't going to stop just because we have a house-elf," she said.
"And what will the job for your elf be?" Remus asked, amusement sparkling in his eyes.
Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. "Well… whatever we need her for." As of yet Dobby had also tried to help in their home, but Ginny had firmly told him not to, as he wasn't strong enough for that yet.
Just as Ginny was dropping the chicken into the sauce pot Dobby came into the kitchen. He was considerably more subdued than usual, a clear sign of his lack of energy.
"Oh! Hi, Dobby! How do you feel?" Ginny asked.
"Dobby is feeling much better, Mrs. Potter!" he squeaked and moved over to the counter.
"Have you met Winky yet?"
Dobby's head turned sharply as he looked at her. "Winky is here?" he squeaked, surprised.
"Yes. She wanted to stay with us," Ginny said and watched with wonder as Dobby's ears sagged disappointedly.
"Then Dobby will leave. The great Harry Potter has no use for two house-elves," Dobby sighed sadly and shuffled sadly towards the stairs with hunched shoulders.
"But Dobby, I thought you wanted to leave? To find a job?" Ginny asked, surprised. She cleaned her hands and bent to check on the vegetable pie.
"To find a job, yes!" Dobby said, and then started to wring his hands nervously. "Dobby is hoping that he can apply for a job here at Harry Potter's house?"
"What? How do you mean?" Harry inquired, confused. "You mean like an employee, or the traditional house-elf way?"
"Harry, that's not even a question with Dobby," Ginny said.
"Why shouldn't it? If he wants to, he could have the same deal as Winky. She too was offered pay and holidays," Harry said. He pulled out a stack of plates, and placed the glasses on a tray to bring out later. "So what did you have in mind, Dobby?"
"I will be liking to be Mister Harry Potter's house-elf, sir! Dobby is liking that very much, sir!" Dobby squeaked happily, and bounced on the tips of his toes.
"Alright, so do you want the weekends off or something?" Harry suggested.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Dobby shook his head so his great ears flapped about his face, "no, it is way too much! Dobby likes freedom, but he likes work more. And he wants to wear clothes and have pay too!"
"You make strong demands, Dobby," Harry said mock seriously. "Alright. How about one day off a week? And ten galleons a week?"
"I is accepting one galleon a week and one day off every month. No more!" Dobby said firmly, crossing his arms. The sight made Harry bite back a laugh.
"I think we can manage that, or what, Ginny?" Harry looked at Ginny with amusement.
She nodded. "And on that day off, you may go wherever you want to go, as long as it doesn't break any of the rules." She pulled out the list of rules that she had made for Winky and let him read it. "Is that alright with you?"
Dobby read through it quickly, and then nodded.
"I will add one point about your payment, holidays and freedom, so we all can be one hundred percent certain," Ginny said and copied it before quickly writing down another rule and changing the name on the top from Winky to Dobby. "There you go." Using a sticking charm, she attached it to the wall below the noteboard that was concealed behind the door to the kitchen. It was separated into four parts; one for each member of the household. She now enlarged it a little and added two more parts for Dobby and Winky, the former of which looked very pleased with this and took Harry's hand resolutely.
Just like with Winky, Harry felt the same spike of pain for only a short moment before Dobby let go.
"Now, you are still ill, so you are not to do any work until I say so," Ginny said firmly, just as Hermione entered the room.
Dobby looked disappointed, but nodded and walked off.
"What was that about?" Hermione asked, watching Dobby's retreating back with confusion.
"Dobby wanted to work here. I offered him payment and holidays, don't worry," Harry assured her when she opened her mouth to speak, "but he wouldn't take more than one day off a month, and no more than a galleon a week. As per now, he's still on sick leave. Healer's orders." He threw a teasing look at Ginny, who stuck her tongue out.
Hermione bent to study the rules that Harry and Ginny had made out, and smiled with satisfacion when she saw the two areas on the board named 'Dobby' and 'Winky'.
"I think you handled it very well, Harry," Remus said, emptying his cup of coffee. He then stood and moved over to the kitchen counter, where he picked up the dinner plates. "I'm impressed at how you managed to keep both house-elves and Hermione happy," he said, raising a brow at Hermione's puzzled expression.
Winky reappeared after half an hour, when they were all eating dinner. Ginny offered her a seat beside Dobby, who was eating a piece of pie with great enthusiasm. Winky protested, but Harry and Ginny told her that now that she was a part of the family, she was expected to eat dinner with them. Having previously worn a small blouse and a skirt, Winky had now settled herself into an old piece of shredded curtains in blue velvet that had been everywhere when Harry and Ginny moved in, but quickly thrown away into the linens cupboard on third floor, stowed away in boxes in case there would be use for it. It had been something that Ginny had pressed through, being used to keep all sorts of stuff just in case, and Harry, who had wanted to trash it, had been forced to cave in.
"You can wear those pretty clothes you wore earlier if you want to," Ginny told Winky gently.
"I is not wearing clothes! I is a proper house-elf, and proper house-elves is not wearing clothes!" she declared adamantly and glared at Dobby, who was still wearing his odd assortment of mismatched socks, children's sports shorts and a tie on a naked chest.
"Alright," Ginny receded, shrugging. "But I will sew some better clothes for you, Dobby." This she wasn't budging on, and Dobby didn't seem to mind, as long as he got to keep his socks, which he could.
Aside from the heated glares sent by Winky to Dobby, the meal progressed cheerfully. Sirius was unnaturally mute, observing Harry and Ginny closely. Remus and Hermione made an effort to talk to the elves, while Fred, George, Neville and Ron were busy discussing other things. Neville was trying to convince Fred and George to use essence of Dragonsong in their pranks, and Ron was more or less talking to himself about keeper tactics that he'd seen Connolly use against one of the Bulgarian Chasers at the World Cup. Percy was as usual absent, which had been the case during dinner every day since the World Cup. According to him and Mr. Weasley, the Ministry was in chaos from all the complaints sent in concerning lack of security. Skeeter's articles didn't help the least, and every morning after such an article, Percy was much later than usual.
After dinner, Winky and Dobby only barely got to bring all the dishes indoors before Ginny used the washing up-charm to do the dishes. With the cleaning charms that Harry and Ginny used, the frequent gardening and interest in cooking, there wasn't that much left for the two elves to do. Dobby, who was not given permission to work before the week before September 1st, had found his sleeping spot in the top drawer of a chest of drawers a little further down the corridor from Winky's wardrobe. Harry greatly suspected this was to know when Harry and Ginny got up every morning, and then be able to cook breakfast before he and Ginny managed to get to the kitchen and do it themselves. However, usually that didn't work, because Ginny, who hated waking people in the mornings when they got up, had placed time-specific silencing charms on the wardrobe and the the chest of drawers.
After a while Harry managed figure out why Sirius was acting so strangely near the elves.
"I see the way that they adore you and Ginny, and you have their outmost loyalty. And I see how you treat them to achieve it," Sirius said, sighing a little as he stared into his cup of tea. "I never treated Kreacher with any sort of respect, because he was loyal to my mother and the rest of the Blacks, who I detested. I know I've been slow to realize it, but I know not that it's my own fault that he's mean and disloyal to me."
Harry nodded slowly, his fingers playing with his wand, which he'd just used to repair the hinges on a door. "Loyalty doesn't come automatically," Harry agreed. "Not even with house-elves." He paused and watched Sirius contemplatingly. "So what are you going to do with him now?"
"I won't ask him over here, if that's what you're worrying about," Sirius assured him.
"No, that's not it. Even if you did, he couldn't tell where in the world he is. He'd just be going to his Master, not to a location known in his mind. The spells work that way. You can call him over if you want to. So rest assured that your dear cousin Narcissa won't find you and murder you in your sleep. Not that I think she's coldhearted enough for it. Her sister, however…" Harry mused, earning a wry sile from Sirius.
"Don't mention that monster," Sirius growled, "I'd bet you anything that if given the chance, Kreacher would tattle on to Narcissa. Thank Merlin Bella is behind locks! Couldn't think of anyone more deserving – except for Voldemort himself," he said passionately.
"Well, now that you know, there's nothing stopping you from making amends with Kreacher. I don't know how much you can change his attitude, since he's lived with the Blacks his whole life," Harry told him.
What families do ∙ What families do ∙ What families do
Just like last summer, Triomphe disappeared shortly before Harry and Ginny went to London. On that particular morning, Hermione and Neville would be flooing from the Burrow with the Weasleys, so they had spent the night there. Sirius and Remus accompanied them to London half an hour before departure.
"Remember to write. Hedwig is going fat from lack of exercise," Sirius tactlessly pointed out, causing Hedwig to hoot indignantly in return and turn her back towards him.
"Don't listen to him," Ginny cooed and rubbed her feathery chest with a finger poking between the bars of Hedwig's cage, "he's just a mongrel full of fleas. I can't believe that we forgot to bathe him!" she shook her head in mock frustration, while Sirius looked positively horrified.
"We'll just do it for Christmas, Gin," Harry said, grinning widely. "I know of a shop in Diagon Alley that sells dog shine potions."
"That's still months away!" Sirius said and waved his hand dismissively.
Remus just smiled and shooed Harry and Ginny on the train. "Don't let Dumbledore get to you, Ginny, and both of you be on guard. Talk to Snape. See if his Mark is still inactive. It'll be the clue that we need," he spoke lowly, hugging both of them. "Take care of each other."
"You too. And Remus, please do go out and do something fun for a change," Ginny said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before climbing aboard the train with Harry, leaving Remus behind, puzzled.
Knowing that less people would trespass there, they found an empty compartment at the rear end of the train. Harry settled in the seat nearest the window, and Ginny found her place in the seat beside him, leaning against his shoulder. The touch made pleasant tingling spread through his body. It was a sensation he never tired of. He pulled out their new book A Home Amongst Wolves: An Objective Study of Werewolf Hierarchy and Living and began to read. Ginny let her eyes drift close and listened as he read the book in his mind.
They were startled from their reading when the door slid open. Ron's brilliantly beaming face appeared. He dragged his trunk inside and shoved up it on the luggage rack.
"Hi, mate! Looking forward to a new season of Quidditch?"
"You bet! After all the practicing, Malfoy won't stand a chance at the Snitch. Not Diggory either, and he's ten times Malfoy's talent!"
"Yeah! You're going to try out too, right, Ginny?" Ron asked, dumping down in a seat before flinging his legs up to rest on Harry's knee.
"Of course! Hi, Hermione!" Ginny smiled at her.
"Hello! Have you any clue of who the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will be? I looked through the whole train in case they were on the train, like Remus had, but there were no adults except for the trolley witch and the driver," she said, levitating her trunk up beside Ron's before taking the seat across of Ginny.
"It's unlikely that whoever it is is on the train," Ginny said matter-of-factly, and beamed at Neville, who entered the compartment. He, like Hermione, used his wand, that Harry had insisted on buying for him for his birthday in July to levitate his trunk up to the luggage rack.
The compartment soon fell into silence, waiting for the train to leave. Harry and Ginny returned to their book, Hermione to her own Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 and tried to get a proper hang on the summoning charm. Ron and Neville discussed the Quidditch World Cup rather passionately, Ron showing off his Krum figure over and over.
"Excuse me." A voice from the door had everyone look up. A girl peered in at them. She had waist-length straggly dirty-blonde hair and protuberant eyes that gave her a constantly surprised look. More oddly, however, she wore her wand behind her ear for safekeeping and a necklace made of Butterbeer corks around her neck. Harry thought she gave off an air of distinct dottiness; not even Professor Trelawney looked as odd as she. Nonetheless, he recognized her instantly from Ginny's classes; a Ravenclaw by name Luna Lovegood.
"May I sit here?" she asked.
"Of course!" Hermione said, nudging a gaping Ron sharply with her elbow.
Neville merely looked away, a pink tinge to his cheeks as Luna sat down in the chair beside Hermione. Harry merely smiled at her and wrapped his arms around Ginny as she settled on his lap.
"How was your holiday, Luna?" Ginny asked politely.
"It was alright," Luna said.
"Were you at the World Cup?"
Luna shook her head. "No. Daddy and I were searching for Blibbering Humdingers in Wales. We didn't find any, but it was still fun. We were hot on the trail of at least one," she told Ginny, who suppressed a laugh.
"That's a pity. Better luck next time," Ginny said casually. Hermione looked at Luna with disbelief.
"There are no such thing as Blibbering Humdingers," Hermione said firmly, "I've never read a single book in all of Potter Palace that even mention that name!"
"Just because we've never heard of it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist, Hermione," Harry said, not looking up from his book. "You hadn't heard about Dementors before you began at Hogwarts either. You just have to look at the right place."
Luna beamed at him happily, and pulled out a magazine called The Quibbler and began reading. Hermione, who had obviously heard of the Quibbler before, was very vocal about her dislike of the magazine.
"Hermione, would you stop?" Neville interrupted one of her arguments, "let her read it if she wants to. It's her business. You stick to your Transfiguration Today and Magizoology of House Creatures. If you ask nicely, I'll even let you borrow The Herbologist, which I receive monthly, but you don't find us picking on you for reading them, even though we might not all agree with what they publish?"
Hermione threw him a dejected look before returning her attention to Luna. "I'm sorry," she said.
"It's alright. I'm used to it," Luna said with a dreamy smile.
"You shouldn't have to be," Harry pointed out before settling down to read with Ginny again.
At school they were met with the horrendous news that the Quidditch Cup was cancelled, causing havoc to arise amongst the Weasleys and the Potters.
"You can't bloody do that! My brother was going to become Keeper!" George shouted heatedly at Dumbledore.
"Now, now, Mr. Weasley; your brother will only have another year to practice, and have an even better chance next year," Dumbledore said jovially. "As I was saying, the Quidditch Cup will not happen due to something very special that will take place at Hogwarts this year. It is my great pleasure to announce that – "
Dumbledore was interrupted by a roaring thunder, and a bang as the doors to the Great Halls slammed open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning against a long staff due to one wooden leg. He was shrouded in a dark travel cloak. As he lowered his hood, Harry caught sight of a gnarled and scarred face, as though a child with no idea about how a face should look, had carved it out of wood. A long mane of grizzled, grey hair fell free from the hood, but the most frightening sight was his eyes. One was small, dark and beady, looking around suspiciously, whereas the other was large and round as a coin, spinning in its socket, and even pointed straight into the man's skull.
Harry watched him with narrowed eyes as the stranger moved up to greet Dumbledore. At first sight, he looked to be a man that had lived through the last war's front rows and taken the brunt of the attacks, but Harry saw what was underneath. Ginny stiffened beside him, her hand clutching his tightly.
The magic of the man was oddly familiar, but Harry was unable to place it – that was until he saw the magic he recognized as the Dark Mark hidden behind a disguising type of magic, which Ginny suggested to be Polyjuice potion.
Crouch Jr! he hissed to Ginny, who met his gaze with her own, alarmed.
Oh hell! She glanced at Dumbledore, I don't think he knows. Harry, you have to find out why he's here, and why he's disguised as that man!
She hadn't needed to ask. Confident that he could investigate without being noticed, he entered Crouch's mind and started his search while Ginny watched "Professor Moody" being introduced, and Ron, Hermione and Neville discussing Mr. Weasley's going to help Moody, who had claimed to have had a break-in in his house.
I'll bet you anything that Crouch Jr. did that, Ginny muttered sourly, hiding an expression of extreme disgust. Then she watched the memories and thoughts that Harry skimmed through.
He hadn't needed to dig deep to find what he needed to find. Right there, in front of them, was the Death Eater who was the key to Voldemort's resurrection. Harry could see the whole plan as clear as day, and everything revolved around the Triwizard Tournament, which was apparently to be held at Hogwarts this year.
I'd rather kill him before I let him hand you to Tom, Ginny growled angrily, clutching Harry's hand possessively.
I think we should tell Dumbledore, despite everything. He's the Headmaster after all, Harry replied.
They could only watch with silent impatience as Dumbledore presented the Triwizard Tournament for the school, who immediately began buzzing with excitement.
Try to find out if he knows anything about Voldemort's last Horcrux, Ginny urged, and Harry prepared himself for a deep dive into Crouch's mind.
In the meantime the feast was served, and Hermione, and to a lesser degree Neville and Ron, started to realize that something was up with Harry and his distant look. However, with Nearly Headless Nick talking about Peeves scaring the house-elves in the kitchen, Hermione became busy trying to convince everyone within earshot about the cruelty shown to the elves, while Ron and Neville leaned over to speak to them.
"Who is it, Harry?" Neville whispered, "what's going on?"
"Not now," Ginny waved them off, not wanting to break Harry's concentration.
Then, suddenly Harry straightened, smiling with relief at Ginny. The snake. His pet snake is the last Horcrux, Ginny. Crouch knows how important it is to Riddle, and… Riddle's way of addressing the murder of Bertha Jorkins and the snake clearly indicates that there's something very special with that snake. We'll have to get close to Voldemort himself. He keeps it close all the time. Wormtail is with him too; he uses its venom to make a potion to keep Voldemort alive, he explained, showing Ginny his discoveries.
She wrinkled his nose at seeing Voldemort's less than human form and Wormtail's face. That little traitor! She snarled hatefully, her knuckles turning white around her fork.
I know, love, Harry replied and gently caressed her hand, causing her to loosen her grip.
Harry? She asked after a long while. How are we supposed to get close enough to Voldemort to kill his snake? Can we tempt it away from him?
Not very likely, Harry said. I can't see how. We can't easily monitor the Riddle house, can we? Not without Crouch getting suspicious about our absence.
No. And we can't quit the school. There was another long silence. It's a possibility, but I definitely don't like Tom being near enough to kill you.
We could kill him in the process if I go through with Crouch's plan, Harry said, causing Ginny to spin her head to look at him with a worried look.
For a few seconds she looked at him with contemplation. Just… Just kill him before he kills you.
I'll do my best, Gin.
Do you want me to apparate with you? To the graveyard, I mean? Ginny asked, turning her attention to her meal.
You know what I'd say, but if that's truly what you want to, I'd just have to trust you to take care of yourself, don't I? he offered her a faint smile.
She beamed at him and leaned over to give him a brilliant smooch on the lips. Maybe it's best we don't tell Dumbledore after all. He'd muck it up.
Harry could only agree.
Their friends, even Ron, were so used to it that they didn't blink, but the newly sorted first years stared at them with giggles or disgusted faces, obviously too young to have any interest in it. The meal went on, but neither Harry nor Ginny paid much attention to what happened around them, except for Crouch's every word and move. He was, however, playing his role very well. To be absolutely certain, Harry kept a window to Crouch's mind open at all times, and really couldn't wait to leave the Great Hall.
I'm going to ward the whole Gryffindor Tower against Crouch, Harry said determinedly as he strode out of the Great Hall with Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Neville hot on his heels.
They trailed the halls wordlessly until they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, following the flow of students through the portrait hole and up the boys' staircase to the Tapestry of the Traveller and the Will-o'-the-wisps. The twins caught up with them by the portrait hole.
"What's going on?" Fred asked. Their mirroring frowns revealed their knowledge that something was not right.
Harry just waved them along and shut the door behind the tapestry firmly before placing a hand on the walls. "Hogwarts, I ask you to protect this room against eavesdroppers and unwanted visitors. If anyone approaches, I want to know," Harry ordered, pushing a little bit of his magic into the castle.
A second later the walls shimmered with magic as Hogwarts adapted to his request. He nodded in satisfaction and sat down in an armchair.
"Speak," said George. Harry saw five impatient looks aimed at him and Ginny, who settled on the armrest.
"Moody isn't Moody. He's Crouch Jr. with polyjuice potion," he said bluntly.
"But… but I thought Dumbledore would take proper safety measures – " Hermione began, but Neville interrupted.
"By letting in a professor with You-Know-Who sticking out of his head, a three-headed dog, a huge basilisk and Lockhart? Not to mention ignoring a murderer hiding inside the castle for many months?" he raised a brow at her, and Hermione deflated a little.
"Oh. That's a good point, I guess," she admitted, "but Harry, you should tell Dumbledore, or at least Professor McGonagall."
"No. No, wait – listen. I read Crouch's mind. He knows about the last Horcrux. Or at least, that is what I think it is, according to what I saw of Tom's interaction with his pet snake," Harry said.
"He made his snake a Horcrux?" Ron gaped.
"Yes, I'm sure he did. But we won't tell Dumbledore, because Crouch might be our clue to the end of this all." Then he told them about everything he'd found in Crouch's mind. About what he'd seen of Voldemort's less than human form, the plan about the Triwizard Tournament, how to get Harry safely through the Tournament's dragon task, underwater task, and to get the Triwizard Cup first deep within a maze filled with deadly creatures, and the plan to get him to the graveyard to resurrect Voldemort.
"Is that really the only way? Does he have to be resurrected before you kill him?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure. I think he'd just drift off as a spirit again if I do that, so I have to get the snake first. Finding him at the Riddle house would be even worse than waiting for the graveyard. If any of you have any other idea of how to get both Tom and the snake, then please tell me," Harry said.
"So you're just going with the plan? Shouldn't you contact Sirius and Remus first? Perhaps they've got some ideas of what to do?" Neville asked. He'd grown tired, so he was already standing with his toothbrush in the middle of Harry and Ginny's living room.
"Good idea, Nev. I'll write them tomorrow," Harry said.
"Well, I'm off to bed," Hermione said and stood. "Good night."
"Good night," Harry, Ginny, Ron and Neville chorused. Fred and George bounced after Hermione out through the door.
Once alone in their bedroom, Harry used his wand and placed some advanced, selective security charms around the whole of Gryffindor Tower, specifically aimed towards Crouch jr.'s magical signature. Then, after brushing his teeth, he undressed until his boxers and crawled into bed where Ginny was already waiting, a brilliant smile on her face, and a loving kiss waiting for him. Naked chests touching for the pleasure of physical contact, they fell asleep within minutes.